The present invention is generally related to nonwoven fabrics, in particular, to dry laid needlepunched nonwoven fabrics.
There has been a continuing need to impart elasticity or stretchability to nonwoven fabrics to allow them to more closely approximate the drape, hand and flexibility of woven or knit textile fabrics. As a practical matter, the process of adding stretch to a nonwoven fabric must be done at low cost so that the cost advantage of nonwoven fabric over the more traditional textile fabrics is not lost.
Several nonwoven fabric applications for automotive use would benefit from the addition of stretch to the nonwoven fabric. For example, seat covers would benefit from a nonwoven fabric that can be stretched over a seat frame and will automatically relax to its original shape without sags or stretch marks. A partially elastic nonwoven fabric would be advantageous for use in door panel trim or headliners where deep contours may be smoothly fit with the stretchable fabric without gathers, puckers or a tendency to lift away from a deep contour. Dry laid nonwoven needlepunched fabrics are distinct from nonwoven fabrics obtained through other processes such as spun bonded, melt blown or wet laid. These other processes are generally used for more compact and lighter weight materials. Spunbonding uses continuous fibers rather than staple fibers. Dry laying tends to permit more voluminous and higher weight fabrics. Dry laying further permits, due to the staple fibers, additional processing such as needlepunching in a texturing loom to obtain a textured surface since the fibers are free to move into the pile surface. While the low cost of dry laid nonwoven fabrics has been desirable in the automobile industry, the lack of elastic recovery properties in dry laid nonwoven fabrics has been a hindrance to more widespread use. It is an object of the present invention to provide a dry laid nonwoven fabric with elastic properties that overcome the nonelastic limitations of the prior art dry laid needlepunched thermal bonded nonwovens.